As the continuing saga between the LIV and the PGA heated up so as the pot money for professional golf tournaments have levelled up.
PGA Commissioner Monahan conceded that the PGA Tour cannot compete with the LIV Golf Series when it comes to pot money that’s why he announced that they will instead give a fight by increasing the purses of eight events for the 2022-23 season to an average of $20 million. But here’s the catch. The tour’s chief says players who have already joined the breakaway league of the LIV will not be allowed back in the PGA.
That’s the beauty of competition. Prize war is good if the bounties are increased and golfers can have choices . But golfers have to balance their priorities when they equate monetary gain against their career path. LIV golfers will earn more money with lesser tournaments (meaning more time with family) which also mean no OWGR points and no consideration for Ryder / Presidential Cup. The same can’t be said with the golfers who choose to stick around with the PGA. Though the pay is much lesser, at least for now they have a fighting chance for the exhibition Cup tournaments, the Ryder and President’s Cup.
They compete for money that’s why they’re called professional golfers. It’s always the bottom line . And since the huge pot money of LIV is so enticing, the PGA have no other choice but to dance with the music. They also increased their pot money which now opened the Pandoras box . And so it goes, when the money war exploded , the pro golfers make the most of it. It’s a good thing for them.
As the word war between Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson escalated, the press buoyed up the issue furthermore by magnifying simple comments and emoticons on Twitter and other social media platforms between the golfers. The exchange of words further widen the crack in the once rock solid camaraderie among golfers . Golfers nowadays from both camps can no longer see eye to eye. And oh boy, that’s bad for golf.
But meanwhile as the war of the PGA and LIV Golf rages on , the LPGA ( the ladies professional golfers association of America) routinely conducted a big tournament in the Big Apple funded by the Saudi Aramco. The same Saudis who funded LIV golf and the world didn’t care so much about it. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander?
Why so much fuzz for men who played for LIV and so silent about the ladies who played in a Saudi funded tournament? Something must be wrong somewhere . Its no longer an issue concerning funding source but it’s the making of the dirty politics. Ah politics, you make the sport ugly.
When pride and ego dictate the norm, when ambitions prevail over reason. When golf leaders think of themselves first instead of the benefits for the common good of majority. Golf suffers. Professional golf is doomed.
And as the famous lines of the old Clint Eastwood movie said. “Every gun makes its own tune.” No two guns are exactly alike, even if they are the same identical model. Each has its own story to tell. The same can be said for golf . Monahan and Norman had a vision. A vision of creating an exciting golf but alas, they were caught in between by their personal conflicts and ambitions. Golf politics should be about making agreements between people so that they can co exist. But instead the current situation created a huge divot that needs a lot of repair works to return to its original condition. Can golf invoke a relief?
Let’s give him a free drop.
